


To Eddie Kaspbrak XOXO

by sadcelestial



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Adult Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, M/M, Married Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Post Derry, Post-Canon, Risk Analyst Eddie Kaspbrak, Valentine's Day, Workplace, you know one of those where eddie is a mystery to his co-workers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29892624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadcelestial/pseuds/sadcelestial
Summary: There are many things Eddie Kaspbrak is known for at his workplace. Most of them are the hush-hush topics that never reach him. At first, he'd been labeled as "very isolated" and "sort of intimidating"—because someone with big, sad doe eyes can't be that intimating, right? The labels began to surprisingly simmer down after the September of 2016, when his co-workers noticed a bit of a shift on his face and body language.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 4
Kudos: 90





	To Eddie Kaspbrak XOXO

**Author's Note:**

> i started this on valentine's day thinking i would finish it before midnight, i'm so fucking stupid

There are many things Eddie Kaspbrak is known for at his workplace. Most of them are the hush-hush topics that never reach him. At first, he'd been labeled as "very isolated" and "sort of intimidating"—because someone with big, sad doe eyes can't be that intimating, right? The labels began to surprisingly simmer down after the September of 2016, when his co-workers noticed a bit of a shift on his face and body language.

He's more relaxed, they would say. Happier, even.

Eddie Kaspbrak was a puzzle his co-workers liked to figure out. They weren't very good at it, though, since it took them a week after his return to notice his wedding ring was gone. There was so much to unpack, especially with the correlation of his absence, a wicked new scar on his face, and now a divorcée.

Lucky for them, there was no need to look for answers because Eddie had just willingly delivered that information. The worst part, it was during their lunch break, half of them almost choked. They don't know what was more shocking, that he has a boyfriend or that he happily shared a piece of his life. No one asked, he just spoke. On the topic of Valentine's day, he inserted that his boyfriend wants to take him to "some stupid sex museum because he knows I'll absolutely hate it" and sweetly chuckled to himself.

They couldn't help but to feel some sort of endearment. They've never seen him like this before. In a strange way, he's now radiating and looks younger. He's even dressing a bit different, more color and less consistency–mismatched patterned socks and stuff. Honestly, he's never been an absolute asshole to anyone, he was only depicted to be through his silence and the way he always seemed like he was on the verge of losing it.

To be fair, most of them had met his ex-wife, Myra. She was...something. It's been discussed within the inner group of co-workers, but there wasn't really much to discuss because Eddie wouldn't either. It was obvious the way he'd try to brush off or switch the conversation when Myra was brought up. Someone else had even noticed how Eddie used to stay after office hours, was found twice asleep on his keyboard. Ever since his return, he's one of the first ones out the door after their shift is done.

He is still pretty isolated—the scar will forever be a mystery—but talks about his boyfriend seem to spring up the most. Especially, after the Valentine's Day of the year 2017.

One out the two things Eddie Kaspbrak is known for in the work place that Eddie is completely aware about is Valentine's Day.

It started February 14, 2017, while Eddie had opened a fresh Microsoft Excel document. His name was called in question by the receptionist. He stood up and confirmed his identity. Other known as the worst decision he has ever made.

"This is from your significant other, Mr. Kaspbrak." A man standing next to the receptionist says to him. He was dressed nice, but wasn't holding anything, so what–  
He began to hold a vocal note. After a second or two, other men popped from a door near him, harmonizing. A fucking acapella group. He hired a fucking acapella group to come sing to him 'Africa' by Toto. He probably paid them extra having them add "Eddie" after every line of the song. He was going to kill him.

Yes, Eddie still slept with Richie that night. He couldn't help it, his boyfriend's handsome. They laid on their bed, holding each other.

"So, how much did you actually pay those guys to come and embarrass me, huh?" Eddie asked.

Richie laughed, "oh, believe me, probably more than they have ever received throughout their whole acapella career. They were the worst reviewed. Man, God bless the Facebook marketplace."

"I fucking hate you so much." Eddie tells him, drawing circles with his thumb on Richie's shoulder. Richie responds with a kiss on Eddie's forehead.

"I wish I was there, then I would've been able to see everyone's reactions." Richie said a bit bummed, but mostly excited.

"Richie, I'm sure I have been the gossip since September. Do you know what you just fucking did?" Eddie tilted his head up to look at Richie.

"Made you more popular?" Richie smiled stupidly.

"You've made them forget all about this baby." Eddie pointed at the scar on his face. Richie furrowed his eyebrows, confused.

"Wait, that's a good thing right?" Richie asked.

"No, that means now I'm going to be 'Eddie Kaspbrak, the guy who's boyfriend purchased an awful acapella group to sing to him for Valentine's Day, and when they finished singing all he responded with was "...okay."'"

"Woah, this boyfriend of yours sounds very interesting. Tell me more about him."

"Oh, he's an asshole. But, he's also the sweetest and I appreciate every gift he's ever given me."

"Aw. So, that means it's cool if I do it again next year, right?"

"No."

"Okay." Richie smiled pretty maliciously and Eddie took notice.

"Richie– no, you will not fucking do it. Don't you dare fucking send me another acapella group next year!" Eddie had grabbed a pillow playfully placing it on Richie's face.

Richie laughs, putting his hand in sign of surrender, "Okay, okay! I'm not going to!"

And he doesn't.

He sends a mime instead.

At least, it wasn't a fucking clown, Eddie thinks.

The next year, an Elvis impersonator.

And the year after that, some Times Square Disney characters throwing flower pedals on Eddie while singing the Happy Birthday song but replacing 'birthday' with 'Valentine's Day'.

Richie was right, it did make Eddie more popular in his workplace. In fact, somehow Richie found a way to send an email, through Eddie's Gmail account, to everyone in his office about this year's Valentine's Day entertainment. He had to find out through a very excited co-worker.

_Dear Eddie's co-workers,_

_I have bad news. Today, February 14, 2021, will be the last Valentine's Day fiasco I will be lovingly sending to your office floor. I know. I, too, am deeply saddened by this ending. I thrive on embarrassing my husband. He's just so cute when he comes home looking angry, like a tiny, little gremlin!_

_Fortunately, I have some good news, too! Today's entertainment will be a big bang, so buckle up! A finale must end on a high note, and that will occur this evening. I've booked the worst in the business, but believe me, this will be the worst of them all._

_Love,_   
_Eddie's very handsome husband_

This was their love language, Eddie couldn't be mad. He knew what he married himself into. And wouldn't trade it for the world. But he will shrink Richie's socks in the dryer.

Eddie notices how he's not the only one who keeps picking up his head, curious to see who Richie has booked this time. At one point, a guy enters to set up a microphone, but he's very obviously only the tech guy. Eddie thinks of entertainment who require a microphone, and his leg begins to bounce. Fuck, what if it's one his awful celebrity buddies. Richie isn't friends with Jeff Dunham, but he doesn't doubt he can get in contact with him just to piss Eddie off because fuck Jeff Dunham. Shit, it's going to be Jeff Dunham, isn't it?

Eddie's too busy freaking out that he didn't hear the elevator ding. A mix of shocked expressions and a roar of laughter is what alerts him. He looks around at his co-workers, confused why they're laughing.

One of them yells out to Eddie from across him, "Your husband must really know how to push your buttons. You fucking hate this dude!"

And Eddie finally looks ahead.

"Ah, you guys! Stop it, you're too much, I haven't even started!" Richie speaks into the microphone, getting a grip of it. Richie's eyes land on Eddie and smiles.

Richie is elegantly dressed up, adding more to Eddie's current freak out list. He wears a fitted red velvet suit with a black silk bowtie, matching the black buttoned up shirt and the black Chelsea boots. A red rose is tucked in the blazer's pocket. His hair is neatly parted, while two curls sit nicely on his forehead.

_Oh my, God._

The second thing Eddie is known for and he is completely aware of is his hatred for the famous comedian, Richie Tozier. At least, that's what his co-workers believe.

The first occurrence was when Richie was barely skyrocketing, making it into the tabloids because of his first Netflix special. A co-worker had tickets to a show of his at the Capitol Theatre. Richie Tozier, that name sparked something in Eddie's head. He would rarely question someone about something he could care less about, he didn't want to lengthen the conversation. However, this time, he asked if he can see a photo of this guy. Familiar, he thought, but very foggy, probably just had seen a photo of him on some social media platform. He brushed it off, but that night, while searching for something new to stream on Netflix, his fingers typed in that weirdly familiar name.

He watched the special. And he hated it. Did he ever think about exiting out? Absolutely not.

He hated the jokes. He hated the audience for laughing. He hated the constant mention of women, being the butt of the jokes. He hated the way he could tell he had drank before this, more likely, hungover. He hated how he watched the special a few more times, pausing or rewinding a lot, to study Richie Tozier. He hated the ache he felt thinking, this is not who he is. These are not his jokes. So, he dug deeper into his career, stumbling into a hole of old YouTube uploads of his stand-up. He was right, that was not his material because Eddie tried his hardest not to wake up Myra from laughing so much. He hates to admit it, he's funny.

Eddie could tell why this guy is likeable. It's because he is. He knows how to appear charming during the worst moments possible.

Eddie hated everything about the act of Richie Tozier, but not him. Never him.

And Eddie hated that he didn't hate him. He's supposed to hate him, he carries the presence of a self-centered asshole. Unfortunately, he liked him a little too much. He couldn't make it obvious, so he decided to throw hate at the guy with every co-workers' mention of Richie Tozier.

Then, they reunited. Then, they started dating.

The hatred still continued, though. But he presented it as more of a joke than he did before because it simply was. The hatred was never real, the hatred was only ever a barricade between acquaintances and Eddie's personal life.

Well...it worked.

Richie is very much aware of Eddie's "I hate that guy" bit, he does it outside of the work place, too. Richie thinks it's the funniest thing in the world, Eddie notices the way Richie laughs with his whole body. He's so stupid, he's in love with him.

Richie's voice fills the one speaker set-up, "Now, can anyone kindly tell me where the famous Edward is at." Richie pretends as if he didn't just make eye contact with him. A sea of fingers point at Eddie like a spotlight. Eddie is sat on his rolling chair, facing Richie with a neutral face, blinking. The area between where Richie is stood and where Eddie is sitting is pretty open, almost as if was perfectly positioned to be that way. They can see each other clearly, Eddie's only sitting about 20 feet away from Richie.

"Wait, you're him?" Richie asks, finally getting a reaction out of Eddie who raises his eyebrows and nods.

"What the fuck? No way, dude, you're like kind of sexy," Richie speaks the last words closer into the mic in a mumbling way. "Okay, I'm getting off track, plus I'm a happily married man." Richie holds his left hand up, wiggling his fingers. Eddie rolls his eyes, as he tries to restrain a smile—he fails.

Richie continues, "anyways, I was booked by your husband to come here and roast you in front of all your little co-worker compadres." Everybody is too busy laughing to notice Eddie flipping off Richie and mouthing "asshole". Richie smiles, removing the microphone from its stand.

"Well, well, well, Eds, do I know a lot about you." Richie looks down at the mic's wire, fidgeting with it.

"You are 5'9. Grow up." Richie delivers sarcastically annoyed. They laugh.

Eddie sits back, crossing his arms over his chest. Usually, a wave of adrenaline would posses his whole body, karate chopping the air with his quick rebuttals. Not this time, he decides. He's just going to listen. Is it going to be difficult to not go full havoc like a Chihuahua? Abso-fucking-lutely. Does he trust Richie to not cross the line? More than anything in the whole world.

"You should consider adding some children's height supplements into those protein shakes of yours because from over here, I can barely see you, buddy. They should've casted you as Ant-Man, then there would've been no need for all of the CGI."

"Also, how the fuck are you jacked, dude? Don't you analyze risks for a living? What you should be analyzing is that husband of yours. Who books some asshole comedian to come roast their significant other on Valentine's Day? How fucking cruel is that?"

"Like, that's fucking bananas, man! Why would anyone do this for money? I would never!"

"Which is why I volunteered to do this for free." Richie smiles.

"Part of me thought, "fuck, that would be fucking hilarious." While the other part just wanted to stand by the water cooler and gossip, sipping on those cone paper cups. You know, like in that movie?"

"Edward, Eddie, Eduardo. Who even named you, your parents? Pfft, fucking lame, man."

"Actually, I did learn about the origin of the name Edward. It means 'prosperous guardian'. That sounds pretty fucking sick, if you ask me. It has a good ring to it, compared to my name. My name is literally Dick. Do we have any other Dicks in this room, tonight?" Richie hollers. There's one guy in the back of the room who yells back, "two in one back here!"

"Did you just say two in o– anyone who goes by the name Richard is officially insane, and if you didn't get that already from all of this," Richie gestures at himself, "then that guy just blew our fucking cover. Yeah, thanks a lot, Dick."

Richie breaks, laughing to himself.

"Okay, spotlight back on Edward. Where was I– oh yes! Prosperous guardian. I've always been iffy about historical events, like mediocre events. How do we know this shit? Who gathered all of this information and how the fuck did they do it? How do we know it's not all total bullshit? How did this start as a roasting session and transition into whatever the fuck this is? I wish I had that answer for all of those questions." There's scattered laughter.

"Who knows, maybe the name Edward doesn't stand for 'prosperous guardian'. But, I don't need some historical event from the year 1066 to prove to me that the meaning is true."

Eddie notices the shift in Richie's tone. It's his genuine tone. Eddie's eyebrows are pulled closer together in slight confusion. Richie then locks his eyes with Eddie's.

"Because I have that proof right in front of my eyes." Richie's smile is full of warmth. A familiar warmth that Eddie doesn't think he'll ever get used to, but he doesn't mind. He enjoys the struck he gets every single time.

Everyone else have begun to mumble to each other, just as confused as Eddie.

Richie continues, "Ever since we were kids, I remember feeling my eyes fill up with astonishment when I'd look at Eddie. I'd think to myself, "woah, he's the bravest person in the whole wide world" and that was the smartest idea my brain has ever formed."

Eddie let's out a loud, short laugh that makes him realize he's choking up. He's the only one who laughed at that, he can feel several eyes on him.

"And, after forty years, he is still the bravest person ever. He is kind, smart, strong, independent. Eddie Kaspbrak-Tozier is revolutionary in the best way possible. And I am the luckiest Dick to be able to spend the rest of my life with this jacked risk analyst."

The confused mumblings slowly transition into quiet expressions of realization. They're louder, some are shocked, others are endeared. The closest one Eddie was able to overhear was ,"wait, why is he declaring his love to him, aren't they both, like, married men." Eddie would've laughed, but his heart is too loud and his tears are blurring his sight.

"Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. You are all deserving of love, thank you for having me." Richie finishes, giving a short wave and smile. Most are applauding, while the rest are still trying to figure out what the fuck is happening.

Richie's hands find themselves removing the the red rose from his blazer's pocket. He's approaching closer towards where Eddie is, who is getting up from his seat. Before Richie can hand over the rose to Eddie, Eddie takes a huff of breath out of Richie as he embraces him first. Richie chuckles and Eddie feels him inch in closer. "I mean it, Eds," Richie speaks low, only for Eddie.

Eddie breathes in Richie's scent, closing his eyes. Taking him in.

There was a time when Eddie didn't believe in Valentine's Day. In love. As a kid, love was gross. People in love were for a bunch of losers. As a teen, his love was wrong. He tried his best to make it right. As an adult, it didn't feel right.

While preparing for the hunt for Pennywise, he was scared, sure. However, he was certain, it felt right. For once in his adult life, something felt right. When he was dying, he was in pain. He didn't know if he'd describe it as 'right'. Seeing Richie painted with his blood, eyes filled with greater fear than It could've ever formed into, that didn't feel right. But, as his eyes felt too heavy to keep open for longer, he thought to himself how this was the right way for him to go. With the presence of the people who love him.

All these years, he was clueless. He finally had figured out love while dying. Just like fear, it comes in different and vast amount of forms.

When awaken, drenched in sewer water, his legs moved while his heart navigated. Adrenaline consumed him, his priorities were the losers. He needed to find them, but first a fucking shower. He barged into his room, letting the door nob aggressively hit Derry Inn's shitty wall, seeing as nobody was here. Only to be met with the sad eyes he remembered having the pleasure of last seeing.

As it turns out, love is for a bunch of losers, and Eddie is full of it.

"I know, Rich. I know." Eddie smiles into Richie's neck.

They pull away, and Richie takes his chance in giving Eddie the rose. Eddie takes it, kissing his husband. Everyone must've surely figured it out by now, as the applause and cheering isn't as confused any longer. Some may need a couple of days to process this, Eddie can't say he can blame them.

Richie was kind enough to offer photos, autographs, or videos to anyone in the office that wanted some. Eddie happily watched him bring joy to others while sitting at his desk. After he was done, Richie joins Eddie at his desk. Richie was going to stay standing before Eddie tugs on his sleeve to lead him onto his lap. Eddie wraps his arms around Richie's torso.

"This is the reason you never wanted me to introduce you to my co-workers? You've had this planned for-"

"The last four years? Yeah." Richie finishes Eddie's sentence.

"How bad did you want to come to the holiday events?" Eddie asks.

"So fucking bad, man," Richie is dramatic, throwing his head back, "I have nightmares of missing out."

"Well, the invitation is still open for the next ones, if you want to come." Eddie leans his head on Richie, and Richie puts his arm around Eddie's shoulders.

"Fuck, that's the sexiest thing you've ever said to me."

"Shut up, also you look very nice."

"Like what you see, Eds?" Richie playfully teases, "Bev made it. Had it made since, like, two years ago."

"What the fuck? Bev knew about this? Who else did?" Eddie picks up his head.

"No one, but I'm sure I'll be trending on Twitter within this hour, so, the whole universe will know. Even the aliens."

"Oh yeah, 'cause aliens have Twitter, right? Ha." Eddie has a smug face on.

"Yeah, they get cancelled every week." Richie jokes.

"For what?"

"For their big, fat dumptrucks."

"Mm, reasonable." Eddie puckers his lips, slightly nodding. "Too many dumptrucks, Twitter would be down for hours a day."

Richie laughs, reaching out for Eddie's hand. He holds it to his chest, keeping it there. Eddie can feels his heart beat. He can feel Richie's finger repeatedly skim along Eddie's wedding ring, as they settle in within their silence.

Richie breaks the silence to ask, "wait, does anyone know that you've been going by Eddie Tozier since like the past 3 years?"

"They know now."

"Nice." Richie smiles.

"Do you want to check out the water cooler?" Eddie asks.

"Holy shi- YES."

They get up, and Eddie leads him to the water cooler. They stay standing there, laughing, bickering, talking about anything and everything they can think of even after everyone had clocked out and left the building.

There are many things Eddie is known for at his workplace, but he's learned not to care about what others say about him. He learned to put that care towards the people he loves and himself. So, let them remember him for this day.

Because what is Valentine's Day without the one with the most love to give?


End file.
